coming home
by ohlookrandom
Summary: Silver couldn't say that Gold had messed up this time, but even when it looked like Gold had done something right, Silver knew he must have done SOMETHING wrong.


So pretty much... I've never written SoulSilvershipping before D: So I hope this is up to scratch- mochicocoa and TheEbilBunni this is actually for you since you guys mentioned Lyra/Kotone :) I took it as a sign! Hope you guys like it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my soul. MY SOUUULLL. Oh no wait, I think I sold that for a cookie. Scratch that.

* * *

><p>Silver couldn't say that Gold had messed up this time.<p>

Although he would love to. Gold was _stupid_. Blockheaded. Idiotic. Incapable of making rational decisions (Silver still remembered the time Gold thought it was a good idea to flirt with Jasmine despite the last warning Volkner had given him- Gold had been unable to walk for weeks afterwards). Above all, Gold was _impulsive_. He couldn't make good choices if his life depended on it-

-and even now, when it looked like Gold had done something _right_, Silver knew he must have done something _wrong._ There was absolutely no way that this should be happening right now. He grimaced, imagining his best friend's face when he saw Silver later. "So?" he'd ask with that stupid, annoying smirk on his face. "How'd it go? I told you I was right, didn't I? Didn't I?"

Stupid Gold.

Crystal could insist all she wanted that Gold had changed, that he was _different_, that he had matured a lot since Silver had left for that trip to Unova and Sinnoh. Yeah, Crystal could talk till she was blue in the face, and Silver _still _wouldn't believe her. It would be like insisting that Ruby had somehow decided that going to the gym was healthy for his Pokemon, or like insisting that Sapphire had taken a fancy to ballroom dancing- Silver grimaced when he remembered encountering that pair in the Sinnoh shopping center and how his ears had hurt after that incident.

So yeah. Gold hadn't changed a single bit, and Silver could see Crystal's face now, disappointed in the way only a girl in love with the town idiot could be. "Give him a chance," she'd say, her mouth tilting downwards in a semi-pout. "You two are always at logger-heads."

Well of course they were, Gold was an idiot, after all, Silver grumbled inwardly. But _this_ time, he couldn't very well say that Gold had managed to screw things up. He adjusted his tie, sighing quietly as the material choked his throat. He suddenly remembered what Blue had advised him with before she left: "_Don't _touch the tie. Don't let _Gold _touch the tie. If that tie gets crooked, Arceus help me, I'm going to use that tie to strangle you."

He'd been away for only a year, but even Silver didn't doubt the fact that Blue could very well pull off what she wanted to. He almost made a move to touch the tie again, but figured that crossing Blue once was quite enough, thank you very much. He chose to adjust his shirt collar instead, playing with the stiffness of the white fabric as it bent under his restless fingers. The Johto sun was hot, even in the dying throes of summer, and Silver didn't fancy standing in a garden just waiting for something Gold had planned.

Gold, plan? Yeah, those words didn't go together, Silver snorted. He'd bet anything that Crystal had helped Gold with this entire scenario. She would, too, if Gold had pushed the right buttons to help him with his schemes. Crystal had always had a soft spot for the Johto charmer, and didn't he know it. It was a good thing that he had a soft spot for her, too, or else… Silver shook his head at the many chaotic possibilities that could result from Gold's flirty nature.

He'd always been envious of the both of them, to be honest. Gold and Crystal, for all their many differences, were almost perfect for each other, complements that fit them together like puzzle pieces. Gold was impulsive where Crystal was rational; Crystal moved to a steady rhythm while Gold exploded like a runaway volcano. Gold was loud, Crystal was quiet; Crystal was responsible while Gold was a vagabond. The one thing that they had in common was their extreme devotion to each other- in all his years, Silver was sure that Gold had never blinked twice at the idea of committing to Crystal for however long it took, and Crystal- well, Crystal obviously didn't find anything particularly troublesome in her boyfriend. Silver had mentioned this envy once to Crystal, and the blue-haired girl had thought about it for a while before venturing, "Maybe you should get out there and meet new people, you know?"

Silver had just given her the Look, and Crystal had shrugged before returning to her paperwork. Neither one of them had returned to the matter, but Silver found himself mulling over the idea.

Gold had brought it up before, of course, in the early years of their friendship. At the time, Silver thought his instant dislike of the idea had stemmed from his annoyance with Gold constantly breaching the topic; but something else had occurred that made him rethink the idea. It had started with a phone call-

"She's back," Gold had all but yelled into Silver's PokeGear as the redhead stood in the confines of his hotel room.

Silver winced, holding the phone away from his ear. "Who's-" he began.

"_Lyra_, stupid! She's finally home from that world tour she took over two years ago!"

"That's great," Silver said flatly.

"You're not happy about it?"

"Gold, listen to me. I'm standing in a hotel room in the middle of Sinnoh, about to go visit Professor Rowan and Birch. It's freezing outside and my hotel just lost all capabilities for heat- do I sound happy about the fact that one of my old rivals is back in town?"

Gold completely overrode Silver's complaint. "Whatever. Anyway, you should come back soon. Lyra asked about you, you know. It would be nice for you to call her to say hello. Or, you know, call her and say 'I hate you'. Whatever you want."

Silver just hung up on his best friend, scowling as he did so.

Crystal called an hour later, and it was _Crystal_- Silver picked up, albeit grudgingly. "What does Gold want?" he asked bluntly.

"He doesn't want anything," Crystal said cheerfully. "Did you hear Lyra's back?"

"Yes, I heard."

"You should call her, you know."

"Why?"

"Do I sense a little hesitation on your part?"

"A _little_?"

"Maybe a lot," Crystal amended. "What's the problem?"

"Apart from the fact that she's one of my oldest rivals?"

"So? Gold and I were once your rivals, too." Crystal paused. "Are you sure you just don't want to call her because… well… you don't want to think she's changed?" she asked diplomatically. Typical Crystal.

"Has she?" The best defense was a good offense, Silver decided.

"She's gotten prettier."

"How much did Gold pay you to say _that_?"

"Truth's the truth, Silver. You like her, don't you."

"You should get those hallucinations checked out, Crystal."

"You're just in denial. At least call her to say hello."

Silver glared at the phone before pressing the disconnect button. "Not a chance," he said aloud to the room.

Of course, he picked up when she called him the next day. "Hey!" she said into the mouthpiece, perky as ever. "How are you? I haven't seen you in forever!"

He ignored the fact that his heart beat a little faster, or that he almost dropped the phone a couple of times, or that his Weavile appeared to be smirking as it lay on his bed. What he _didn't _ignore was how easy it was to slip back into the normal routine of taunting and playful verbal jabs, or how easy it was to go to sleep that night with a slight smile on his face.

He tried to forget, and the weeks dragged on slowly. She called him some days, and he sometimes called every other day to say hello; but even as the phone calls grew fewer and far between, he tried to forget the warm feeling inside his stomach when he heard her cheerful voice filter through the phone. It wasn't worth it, he figured. She would leave soon for another adventure, and he would be on the road still, gathering information for the various Professors of the region. Except that she never left, and she wasn't planning on it, according to Gold and Crystal. Silver scowled when he heard this, but even he couldn't conceal the faint leap of happiness his heart performed.

So he came home, finally, a year after he had left and six months after Lyra returned home. Gold was the first one he saw, bouncing with excitement. "Go get dressed," he ordered. "The outfit's on your bed."

Silver dropped his bag on the kitchen floor. "Why?" he asked, dreadfully suspicious.

"You've got a date. Go! Gogogogogo!" And Gold shoved Silver in the direction of the stairs, taking full advantage of the fact that his best friend was in a daze from all the traveling.

"But-" Silver protested.

"Silver, if you don't do it, someone's going to be really disappointed. Now go."

Silver was too tired to process what was happening. "It's not Jasmine, is it?" he wanted to know. "You remember what happened last time-"

"I promise it's not Jasmine. Now go!"

So here he was, standing outside someone's door in a collared shirt and tie. And it wasn't just _someone_; Silver wasn't tired enough to not recognize Lyra's house. He didn't know how Gold had managed to wrangle this date, but it was _Gold_- nothing was predictable around that boy. He sighed, resigned to his fate of being kicked off the property- what else could he expect from a girl who had been ignored for the last six months- and knocked on the door, hoping against hope that she wouldn't be home.

No such luck. The door opened, and Crystal poked her head out. "Hi," she said with the best poker face she had- which wasn't saying much- "Lyra will be right down."

Silver opened his mouth, but Crystal shut the door in his face. Silver glowered at the door, and almost turned to go home, but something kept him rooted to the porch- curiosity? He didn't know, but at any rate, he stood there, cursing his best friend and his ideas.

The door swung open again, and Silver opened his mouth to say something, but the sight that met his eyes rendered him speechless. A taller version of the Lyra he knew lounged against the door, clad in a halter-neck summer dress that brought out the blue in her eyes and accentuated the new dark brown highlights that streaked through her light brown hair. "Hi," she said shyly, and even that word brought Silver's heart racing to a dangerous heart rate. "Long time no see."

No, Silver couldn't say Gold had messed up this time. And maybe- here Silver winced inwardly- maybe, after all, he would just have to thank his best friend for doing something right for once. Oh, well, he decided as he allowed Lyra to take his arm, there was a first time for everything, he supposed.

* * *

><p>Yes no maybe? :) The reviews are always appreciated, as always. Thank you for taking the time to read this through!<p> 


End file.
